Here she is little Miss Thing!

I was working the other day, trying some new techniques and playing with a bunch of different materials when she appeared!

Huh!? Funny how things happen!

Okay, is this a riot or what? I thought my 7 year old would probably faint if he thought Mom spent the day with Darth and the rest of the intergalactic crowd!

For those of you who also saw Darth, you know that his was a picture from the CHA convention in Anaheim. I had the pleasure of attending with a couple of art pals of mine, April Avery, and her pal Ginger. It's seems like such a luxury to spend the day with people that you love and to laugh, chat, lament, and bounce around ideas. It just doesn't happen that often. We walked the show , treated ourselves to some make-n-takes, and generally soaked up the creative atmosphere. It was great!

Now we're in the midst of a regular week but I did take the time to read through a few of my favorite blogs. One of my favorites is Deryn Mentock's blog and her January 22nd post really hit home with me. Not being horribly biblical you sometimes miss the underlying importance of faith. Deryn talks about the story of Esther from the bible and how she meets the mean guy Haman that wants to exterminate all the Jews. She goes on to say that the world really hasn't changed much since that early time in that we still have the propensity to harshly judge, heckle, sneer, gossip, use, (insert your own describer word) and act like high school never ended in a myriad of different situations. It's extremely hard to have any faith in people these days. Or when you do have faith the other person makes some action towards you that makes you realize that your faith was blind. Please read through her thoughts, it in turn will give you something to think about.

That brings me back to my art friends. When we first met up on Sunday we all did a group exhale then started in on how each of us had something emotional happen the week prior. Funny how things are sometimes universal. One of us had mishaps with a group they'd known for an extended length of time but was now treating them poorly. Another had family issues going on that were affecting their emotional base, and another had thought someone they'd known for several years knew them enough to know how they work in different situations but came to be accused of some trivial happening. Each of us had some emotional tale to tell over someone that they thought they knew or knew them and all of us had found out differently.

Being creative can be an isolating vocation. When you begin a friend relationship how do you determine when to have faith to move forward or the distrust to step away...? Do you keep exploring until that person proves their true intention? It's impossible to know without faith...

More later...

Is this cute or what? My kids attend an arts magnate school so lots of their regular work is taught with a flair for the creative. During a "Say No To Drugs" program each of the class wrote down their reasons why they would never do drugs to make all the holes of Sponge Bob's sponge.

Hurray for Mrs. Eskridge's 5th grade class!!!

A View From the Day...

How the day went...


It rained and sprinkled through the day. A big deal here in SoCal. If you look at the right side you can see the rainbow we were driving towards. (it's kind of small)


In this pic it's right over the road and the car in the distance.

Hasn't living near electrical areas like this been linked to illnesses...? Seems kind of scary. It makes a humming noise as you drive by.

I forgot to say that this is the trip we take to pick up our kids from school.

My pics for the day...

Until next time!

Todays projects

This morning was a fact finding mission. Our school PTA has asked me to chair their yearly tile project and we met to come up with ideas for the space. The school is an arts magnate with the belief of H.E.A.R.T. H = harmony , E = empathy, A = achievement, R = reflection, T = transformation. With that in mind the project is a tile mural to be composed of the handprints (on flat tiles) of any and all students who wish to participate. Last years was a representation of the school mascot, a Monarch butterfly. This year it needs to include a heart. A few days of sketching and an idea should present itself.

The other project on my very messy desk is a soldered shadowbox. A few days ago I put together a prototype.

This went together fairly well and I soldered it. Took some time as condensation forms inside the box as you solder and you need to wait until it clears. I was also concerned that the beads inside might melt but that didn't happen (yeah!). It's not perfect but it turned out well enough to try it again. (will try to remember to post a finished pic)

Now I'm off to do some ever present cleaning. You know, the straightening and re-organizing so you can actually find your desk cleaning...!

Where did the time go...?

September...? Where did the days go? I just looked at my first post here stating I'd post pictures the same week. Guess what? Didn't do it!

Well, what did I do? Let's see, I had my parents visit for three months. My company (of one) ran around the countryside and participated in about 10 artisan shows. We had Christmas and actually were able to get the tree up with time to spare. My kids had numerous school activities, get togethers, and play dates. We stayed awake to see the ball drop New year's Eve but only by a few minutes. What else...I'm not sure I know. But the time flew by and now it's January. Wow!

The best place for me to start is probably with a little bit about myself so we can all get to know each other here in the blogosphere. Hmmm...I have been creative ever since I can remember. Paint, pencils, crayons were all a part of my toddler years and I had my first sewing lesson by the time I was six. Being an only child I spent hours drawing or just chalking sentences on a chalk board. Through high school I learned the ins and outs of photography, weaving, printmaking, basic metals, and life drawing, just to name a few. At the beginning of college I fell into the restaurant business and somehow got lost. Seemed like all the adults I looked up to thought an art career of any kind was a frivolous endeavor. It only took about a year of that chatter to look for something else to do.

So, life never seems to run a straight line, does it? Only after 18 years in the restaurant business, a divorce, moving over 3000 miles (twice), and getting married again (but this time to my best friend) did I allow myself to look up. It's so easy to let a big piece of yourself go ignored and let life carry you along. My now husband looked at me and very calmly said, "honey, why don't you quit your job and do something you enjoy?" Once I recovered from shock I did just that.

Today I participate in about 20 artisan shows a year with my charm jewelry company Charming Trinkets. I also have a huge vintage accessory collection and am working on a new mixed media venture. Creative is a daily endeavor, for myself, my family, and with my two great kids.

My hope within this blog is to meet other like minded people and to perhaps blow off some creative steam from time to time. Staying true to your artistic self can be somewhat isolating and many people you meet just don't quite understand.

Until next time!

P.S. Last years blog and some of my creative work can be found at:
http://www.hardwearbysusan.com